Under one roof: the social relations and relational work of energy retrofit for the occupants of Multi-owned Properties

Dr Iain Cairns¹, Professor Matthew Hannon¹, Professor Mark Davis², Professor Lucie Middlemiss², Dr Anne Owen², Dr Ruth Bookbinder², Dr Giulia Mininni³, Dr Donal Brown³, Dr Marie Claire Brisbois^3
1University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom. ²University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. ³University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom

The vast majority of UK Multi-Owned Properties (MoPs) – i.e. buildings divided into flats with multiple owners – must be retrofitted for net zero. However, little progress has been made, with government policy largely insensitive to neighbourly relations in shaping retrofit decision-making. Taking a novel approach rooted in relational sociology, we mobilize Zelizer’s concept of ‘relational work’, and deploy two of Hargreaves and Middlemiss’ three types of social relations (intimacy and institutions) as an analytic framework to explore the complexities of retrofit in historic MoPs in south Glasgow, UK. We find that the increased relational work required in MoPs stymies retrofit, but that more intimate relations between neighbours and the unrecognized relational role of property managers in MoPs offer opportunities to drive the retrofit economy. Our findings provide insights into theories on the relationship between law and relational work and show how relational sociology offers a useful lens to understand the complexities involved in good governance, in our case the governance of MoPs.